PHILADELPHIA _ One of the most anticipated seasons in the 76ers' recent history began with a grind-it-out victory.
The Sixers defeated the Boston Celtics, 107-93, in Wednesday's season opener for both squads at Wells Fargo Center.
This marked the Sixers' first season-opening victory since defeating the then two-time defending NBA champion Miami Heat, 114-110, at the start of the 2013-14 season. It was also their second straight series win over the archrival Celtics. The Sixers had lost 21 of the previous 24 before the consecutive wins.
But this was far from a thrilling victory.
The Sixers made just 7 of 29 3-pointers for 24.1 percent. The game also resembled an MMA card with 63 total fouls. The Sixers were called for 34 fouls, while the Celtics had 29. Philly also turned the ball over 17 times.
All five Sixers starters scored in double-digits.
Ben Simmons finished with 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting to go with nine assists, eight rebounds and four turnovers. Tobias Harris had 15 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and four turnovers. Embiid added 15 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Josh Richardson had 17 points, two blocks and a steal, while Al Horford added 16 points.
But this matchup was weird for Horford.
That's because he made his Sixers debut against his former team.
Horford left the Celtics to sign a four-year, $97 million contract with Sixers in July. He could make up to $109 million. The 13th-year veteran said he couldn't pass up the opportunity to win an NBA title alongside Embiid, Simmons, and Harris.
The four along with Richardson, another newcomer, make up arguably the league's most imposing starting lineup. The lineup is the reason the Sixers are among the favorites to reach the NBA Finals.
This game served as an early-season barometer for how the Sixers will fare in transition defense, against a small-ball lineup, and against a zone while on offense.
The Celtics small-ball lineup of Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum, Enes Kanter, Jalen Brown and Kemba Walker got out and ran against the Sixers. However, that really didn't bother them. The Sixers were hurting themselves with an inability to make shots.
Early on, the Sixers looked like a team with no offensive identity. A lot of that had to do with incorporating two new players in the starting lineup. And they only had two preseason games _ against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions and Orlando Magic _ in which they were all on the court together.
So in the first quarter, they looked a bunch of very good players playing pickup.
The Celtics also double- and triple-teamed Embiid. The two-time All-Star did a nice job of passing out of the double. The Sixers just missed shots. They missed all seven of their first-quarter 3-pointers and shot 2 for 14 from deep in the first half.
However, the Sixers battled back from an eight-point deficit to take a 49-48 advantage into the half. They took the lead one-point cushion on Richardson's pair of foul shots with 27 seconds before intermission.
Philly had a scare early in the fourth quarter when Brown slammed into Embiid while attempting a layup. The big man, who was defending on the play, fell to the court. He remained there for a couple of minutes and was checked out by the team's doctor and trainer.
However, the center with an injury history appeared to avoid major injury on this play. He went to the locker room for testing and was fine except for suffering a lip laceration.
But that didn't stop the Sixers' momentum for the moment.
They opened the quarter on a 13-2 run to take a commanding 62-50 lead on Harris' jumper with 8:11 left in the quarter.
However, Celtics pulled within closed the gap to 68-65 on Hayward jumper with 2:45 left in the quarter. But Embiid scored the Sixers' next five points before Richardson added a basket to give them a nine-point cushion (77-68) after three quarters.
Hayward led all scorers with 25 points. Walker had 12 points while struggling through 4-of-18 shooting.
